You Asked: plasma TV replacements, cheap OLEDs, and Sharp’s return

1 month ago

In this installment of You Asked, resident AV master Caleb Denison answers your questions astir nan champion plasma TV replacement, inexpensive OLED versus high-end LCD, nan champion inexpensive TV for movies, and what he thinks of nan caller Sharp mini-LED TV.

Plasma replacements

An aerial position of nan underwater waterfall adjacent Mauritius shows connected a Sony A95K OLED.

Kevin Maple writes: I person a Pioneer 60-inch 1080p Kuro Plasma that, successful galore cases, outperforms, my two-year-old Sony 4K. I struggle pinch whether I should switch it. The viewing perspective and achromatic levels are amended than my Sony, and it looks fabulous – and astir apt amended pinch sports broadcasts that, for reasons you addressed, are still either 720p, 1080i, aliases 1080p. It has HDMI (but not nan latest) and performs good pinch my AppleTV. What’s really to summation by dumping what is astir a 14- to 15-year-old TV (dumb TV) for a newer $3,000-plus option? Budget’s not nan roadblock; I conscionable really don’t spot newer TVs pinch broadcast TV and sports bringing immoderate benefit. And successful nan lawsuit of viewing angle, LED seems to lose. I conjecture I would summation pinch Netflix 4K shows, but nan aged Pioneer does a awesome occupation pinch compressed video.

So, Kevin, I’m funny astir what your Sony 4K TV is. But since you mentioned that nan Kuro’s achromatic levels and viewing perspective are superior, I’m going to task a conjecture that it’s an LCD-based TV. And, if that’s nan case, yeah, I understand being reluctant to switch nan Kuro pinch an LCD TV. That’s why I would propose looking astatine OLED TVs, which person measurably superior achromatic levels and off-angle viewing to your Kuro. And, I suspect, that if you were to bargain a likewise sized TV to nan Kuro, 65 inches would beryllium nan measurement to go, unless you want to downsize. Then you would announcement that nan OLED looks amended successful almost each way, prevention one: slow-panning shots connected movies. That’s wherever OLED tin person a benignant of flashing effect because its pixels are truthful instantaneously accelerated that nan activity of ray from 1 pixel to nan adjacent tin beryllium a small jarring to immoderate viewers.

Check retired my video titled Plasma vs. OLED 2023 and spot what you think. If you person much questions aft watching that, please constitute again. But, also, I would propose a 65-inch Sony A95K if you tin get your hands connected one.

A cheetah lounges successful a character shows successful a Samsung F8500 Plasma.

@tomeliason3480 besides had a plasma replacement question: My Samsung 8500 plasma conscionable died. Should I spell pinch nan LG C2, LG C3, aliases TCL QM8?

Mine, too! In nan Plasma vs. OLED 2023 video I mentioned above, I utilized an F8500 plasma, and that TV conscionable died astir a week and a half ago. I’m not going to get excessively heavy into it, but location was a mini flame, a poof of smoke, and nan main committee was fried — this aft nan TV conscionable went black, moreover though you could still perceive audio. Does immoderate of that sound familiar? I’m ace curious, truthful please constitute successful to YouAsked@digitaltrends.com and fto maine know. And erstwhile we get chatting, possibly we tin dial successful which TV you should get because — arsenic I mentioned successful nan sixth installment of YouAsked — I request much info than you gave me.

Best TVs for motion

The sun illuminates a sunflower successful a section shows connected a Hisense U7K.

Continuing on that aforesaid theme, Daniele Amandolini writes:

I ain a 2016 Vizio M50. Some of nan backlight zones person failed, and there’s a darker area connected nan screen. Safe to say, I’m fresh for an upgrade. Other than your site, I besides cheque Rtings reviews, and astir TVs these days look to suffer from mobility issues erstwhile displaying 24 fps [frames-per-second] content. I americium a cinephile (and a filmmaker myself) and I want a TV that shines successful showing 24 fps content. Everything other is secondary.

I’m not asking for a circumstantial exemplary (I would for illustration to enactment successful nan $500/$600 scope for a 50- aliases 55-inch panel), but alternatively thing to guideline maine successful uncovering TVs that do good successful that circumstantial area. What should I look for? How tin I place that circumstantial strength/weakness successful TVs? The showcase contented astatine section stores is truthful misleading.

Furthermore, Rtings seems to item really TVs pinch faster consequence clip (which is astir of them these days) particularly struggle pinch 24 fps content. Ironically, it seems for illustration watching movies/shows has go a niche usage lawsuit for TVs and I’m lost.

So, Daniele, I consciousness your pain. The first point I want to opportunity is that conscionable astir immoderate TV I urge to you is going to outperform your Vizio M50. TVs person travel a agelong measurement since 2016. And, I would opportunity that if you didn’t announcement particularly mediocre 24 fps capacity connected your Vizio, past you aren’t going to consciousness for illustration you’re taking a measurement backmost pinch 1 of nan overmuch better-performing TVs today. For a 55-inch astatine astir $600, I would propose nan Hisense U7K.

The problem pinch displaying movie contented coming is that nan very accelerated consequence clip of today’s LCD TVs and nan instant consequence clip of today’s OLED TVs make very slow pans successful films show nan slowness of nan framework complaint successful a measurement that galore of america aren’t utilized to. You mightiness deliberation that faster-acting pixels would beryllium a desirable attribute. And for galore things, they are. But what happens successful a slow cookware is that nan image is moving slowly, and it’s happening astatine a slow framework rate. So each clip a pixel activates from acheronian to bright, you spot that activation, and it appears arsenic a benignant of flash, aliases flicker. You tin reside this immoderate by utilizing mobility smoothing. But if you usage excessively much, past you suffer nan cadence of nan movie and it doesn’t look for illustration movie — it looks for illustration a soap opera. One of nan reasons I for illustration Sony TVs for mobility processing is that you tin instrumentality conscionable a touch of mobility smoothing and get free of immoderate undesirable effects while nan movie still looks for illustration a movie.

I dream that helps!

Cheap OLED vs. high-end LCD

An aerial views of a coastline shown connected a Samsung QN90C.

Houston Lamb asks: From a cost-versus-picture value perspective, are location situations successful which you would urge a cheaper OLED TV for illustration nan LG B bid complete a high-end LCD TV?

No. Not anymore. A fewer years ago? Yes. Then, nan cleanable blacks of OLED could not beryllium approached by LCD TVs, moreover nan high-end models. And that cleanable achromatic yielded astonishing contrast, truthful moreover though the OLED TV’s processing mightiness not person been arsenic bully arsenic a high-end Sony LCD TV, nan delta successful black-level capacity betwixt OLED and LCD was large capable that I would person opted for OLED. But today, galore high-end LCD TVs are getting very adjacent to OLED achromatic levels, and truthful nan amended image processing successful those high-end LCD TVs ends up being nan tipping point. Right now, I mightiness bargain thing for illustration nan Samsung QN90C complete an entry-level OLED.

Sharp TVs make a astonishment return

A promotional image for nan Sharp Aquos XLED TV.

The astir celebrated mobility this past week had to do pinch nan caller Sharp Aquos XLED mini-LED TV and if I’m going to reappraisal it and what I deliberation astir it. So, to these 3 who wrote in: @strpyw1 @arthurvandermark5397, and @theworkoutgeek, acknowledgment for asking. I cognize you correspond much group who are wondering nan aforesaid thing.

So, this is simply a small embarrassing to admit — I mislaid way of what was going connected pinch Sharp backmost successful 2018 aliases 2019. So, I was unaware, until very precocious that Sharp owned its marque sanction and IP again. So, astatine first, erstwhile folks were like, “There’s a caller Sharp TV out. What do you think? Are you going to reappraisal it?” my soul speech was “yeah, no, astir apt not. I’m already reviewing Hisense TVs.”

For those of you who don’t cognize what nan heck I’m talking about. Here’s nan backstory: Sharp, for illustration each Japan-based TV makers, was connected nan struggle autobus backmost successful 2014 and 2015. I fishy that nan horrendous earthquake and Tsunami that struck Japan successful 2011 had tremendous economical impacts that had ripple effects that were felt hard, overmuch later aft nan event.

Meanwhile, South Korean companies for illustration Samsung and LG and Chinese companies for illustration Hisense and TCL were surging successful popularity.

Toshiba and JVC ended up getting bought retired conscionable to licence their names. Panasonic withdrew from nan U.S. market. And Sharp sold licensing authorities to Hisense for U.S. TV accumulation successful 2015. So, from 2015 to 2018 aliases so, if you bought a Sharp TV, you were buying a Hisense.

Now, though Sharp sold nan licensing and manufacturing capacity it had successful North America to Hisense, Sharp continued to beryllium Sharp. Foxconn bought Sharp and was, until recently, nan genitor company, but Sharp, to immoderate degree, was still nan Sharp we knew from backmost erstwhile it made immoderate of nan champion TVs you could buy.

Well, successful 2019 — and this is wherever I mislaid way of nan communicative — Sharp bought its sanction and each its authorities backmost from Hisense. And it has been plotting a comeback ever since. I missed that. Full stop. It was buried successful immoderate manufacture gazette and I missed it! Then, nan world pandemic, and busy, busy, busy, and present we are today. I didn’t cognize that nan caller TV you each person been asking astir was really made by Sharp.

I’m embarrassed. I consciousness for illustration I should person known that. Please forgive me.

So, yes. I person to spot this TV! I person nary narration pinch Sharp now, but I had amended rekindle one. And yes, I conjecture there’s yet different TV coming successful for review! I’m excited. It could beryllium great. This could beryllium immense — aliases it could beryllium a letdown — but I’m going to enactment optimistic.

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